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Explore the impact of casinos in Macau and Singapore on revenue, social issues, and online gaming. Learn about licensing, government benefits, and regulations in these Asian destinations.
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Gambling as Strategies for Economic Development: The Case of Macau and Singapore Dr William Vlcek Lecturer in International Relations School of International Relations University of St Andrews, Scotland
Overview • Macau casinos • Background and context • Revenue and visitors • Singapore casinos • Gambling revenue • Addressing the social ill • Internet gambling/Online gaming
Liberalising the casino license • In 1961, a monopoly license to operate casinos • Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao (STDM), majority owner Stanley Ho • Return of Macau to Chinese governance, 1999 • Three casino licenses granted in 2002 • Galaxy Casino SA – Galaxy Casino and Venetian Macao • Wynn Resorts (Macao), sub-conscession to Melco PBL Jogos (Macau) • Sociedade de Jogos de Macau SA (SJM), sub-conscession to MGM Grand Paradise SA
Casino revenue growth Source: DSEC - Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR Government (June 2012)
Who gambles in Macau? Source: DSEC - Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR Government (June 2012)
Government benefit Source: DSEC - Statistics and Census Service, Macao SAR Government (June 2012)
Singapore– a competing Asian casino destination • Two ‘integrated resorts’ with a casino • Resorts World Sentosa (opened February 2010) • Marina Bay Sands (opened April 2010)
Singapore – gambling revenue • Total gross gaming revenue for 2011 was ‘almost US$6 billion’. • For 2011 Singapore collected ‘betting taxes’ of US$1.84 billion
Addressing the social ill • Citizens and permanent residents pay an entrance fee (S$100 per visit or S$2,000 for an annual pass) • ‘Around’ 200,000 residents visited a casino in 2011 • Government maintains a list of ‘excluded persons’ the casinos must prevent from entering the gaming rooms
Internet – the classic view New Yorker cartoon by Peter Steiner, published 1993.
Internet gambling, ‘offshore’ • Antigua-Barbuda, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Isle of Man • WTO Dispute Case DS285: United States — Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services
Online gaming is dangerous • Corrupting influence on children • Money laundering • Terrorist finance